AIA San Francisco and Equity by Design has announced early findings from the 2018 Equity in Architecture Survey as part of the fifth sold out Equity by Design: Voices, Values, Vision Symposium at the San Francisco Art Institute.
As the largest most comprehensive national study on the topic of talent retention within Architecture, the 2018 survey garnered 14,360 completed responses to 80-plus questions. The survey has potential to impact the architectural practice nationwide and establishes a legacy data set combined with surveys fielded in 2016 and 2014. The 2018 survey asked questions of architecture school graduates in the U.S. about professional experiences, backgrounds, and aspirations.
“The Equity in Architecture survey data provides us with insightful baselines to better understand and support our members along their career path,” says Jennifer Jones, AIASF executive director. “Our chapter has always been at the forefront of supporting emerging professionals, building bridges between academia and the profession, and now we will be able to leverage that support along the entire career path trajectory.”
The analysis of collected findings focuses on differential experiences of professionals based on gender, sexuality, race, and ethnicity. In alignment with the symposium theme this year, three related frameworks for understanding how issues of equity impact the lives of architecture school graduates were presented.
- Voices offers insight into personal and professional milestones that have the tendency to hinder career progression and influence decisions to leave the field.
- Values explores the personal and collective values that guide us in our careers, and the ways in which the narratives that we shape about our professional worth influence our professional experiences.
- Vision enumerates the ingredients of a satisfying career in architecture by detailing the components of our career perceptions, and the ways in which individuals and firms can positively influence workplace culture and project outcomes through the lens of equitable frameworks.
“Research has been the impetus for action with key findings that fueled the establishment of the AIA National Commission on Equity in Architecture. Firms of all sizes are beginning to re-evaluate workplace policies for equitable practice,” says Rosa Sheng, FAIA, 2018 AIASF Board president. “Knowledge is power, and an effective tool for change.”
Project Description
The 2018 Equity in Architecture Survey was designed in partnership with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture with the goal of generating a comprehensive national data set detailing current positions and career experiences of architecture school graduates. Over 50 volunteers from across the U.S. assisted in development of the survey. With the assistance of architecture’s national collateral organizations including, AIA components, firms, and academic institutions, survey invitations were sent out to a broad cross-section of the profession.
This unprecedented collection of professional voices is the testimony that allows us to build an understanding of our strengths as a profession, and to gain insight into the work needed to provide each individual within our field with opportunities to thrive and to make a lasting impact within the communities that we serve.
The Equity in Architecture Survey was conducted between Feb. 12, to March 16, 2018, via Survey Monkey by email invitation. The survey results were analyzed by the academic research team per the schedule outlined within the general timeframe between April 2018 – September 2018.